Fool’s Errand – Robin Hobb

Bantam Spectra, Copyright 2002, 498 pages.

ISBN: 0-553-80148-1

Read: February, 2011 (at age 32)

First time read.

If you haven’t read it:

This is the first book of The Tawny Man trilogy, which also contains Golden Fool and Fool’s Fate.  It follows directly after The Farseer trilogy, and deals with the same character.  I’d recommend starting with Assassin’s Apprentice, rather than starting here, in order to fully appreciate many of the relationships contained in the story.

From the dust jacket:

For fifteen years, since the events that shattered his old life, FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in a self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him.  A bastard with royal Farseer blood, he has retreated to an isolated cottage far from the intrigues and dangers of the capital.  Now he believes himself content to exist in obscurity, raising his adopted son, Hap, and sharing his solitude with his faithful wolf bondmate, Nighteyes.  Despite the rumors he hears of savage reprisals against those possessing the Wit magic, he is determined to remain aloof from the conflict.  After all, he has served his kingdom, sacrificed what was dearest to him, and he deserves his peace.

But all that is about to change when destiny comes seeking him once again.  High summer brings visitors to his door, and with them his past.  Jinna, a hedge-witch forsees that a long-lost love will return to him.  Chade – court assassin and Fitz’s mentor from his own assassin days, now growing infirm – has reasons of his own for desiring Fitz to return to Buckkeep Castle.  And when the Fool, the former White Prophet, reappears as the wealthy and charming Lord Golden, he beckons Fitz to take up his duties as Catalyst, the one who enables other to be heroes and change forever the path of time.

To all of them Fitz says no.  He has done his duty – more than one man should be expected to do.  But then comes the summons he cannot ignore.  Prince Dutiful, the young hear to the Farseer throne, has vanished from Buckkeep Castle without a trace.  Whether Dutiful has been kidnapped or has fled his impending arranged betrothal is unclear.  What is clear is that the Prince is rumored to be Witted at a time when public superstition is running high against those possessing that “beast magic”. 

Endowed with both the royal Skill magic and the despised Wit, FitzChivalry may be the only one who can retrieve the Prince before his betrothal ceremony – thus sparing the Six Duchies profound political embarrassment…or worse.  But even Fitz does not suspect the web of treachery that awaits him.  Everyone seems to have an agenda for the young Prince, and soon FitzChivalry is plunged into a situation where his loyalties to his queen, his Wit Partner Nighteyes, and those who share his magic will be tested to the breaking point.

That was much too long of a blurb, but it does pretty well set up the book – basically, in the middle of a witch hunt, a witch needs to go find another witch.

If you’ve read it (spoilers!)

Characters:

Excellent.  The character development and description remains a very strong part of the book.  I especially liked how Fitz still carried overtones of the child from Assassin’sApprentice in his more aged, mature self.  He’s managed to make it through four books now, and remains flawed, but not always in the same ways.  He still has a similar voice to his younger self, but is tempered with experience, most of the time.  The supporting cast still all felt like people, even the ones that just got brief sketches. 

Premise: 

Excellent.  This book follows naturally from events in the Farseer trilogy.  There’s no stretching to fit the old characters into the current problems of the story.

Setting: 

Good.  The world’s getting bigger – we have mention of the Liveship Traders parts of the world, and the Outislands are now not at war, so trade becomes more common in the Six Duchies.  The environment is well described.  I like the idea of the parallel magic systems (Wit and Skill) but the rules still seem a bit fluid, changing at the pace of plot.  A lot of that can be forgiven as a consequence of having an unreliable narrator who doesn’t know too much himself.

Plot:

Good.  The problems were real, the environment is still scary, and I’m more intrigued than ever to see what’s going to happen with Fitz and the Fool.  That’s pretty good for a book four.

Readability:

Good.  The book flowed well, and caught me up much too late finishing it off.  I really appreciated the chapter intros – besides fleshing out the setting, they prepared me for what was going to come up in that chapter, explaining some actions that might be seen as out-of-character.

Overall:

Good.  Nothing comes easy to our dear Fitz.  Every triumph comes with a significant cost, and the poor guy’s getting pretty beaten down.  It seems like all Fitz’s triumphs are really just screwing up in a different way.  I liked how despite all the scars, and the new responsibilities, Fitz was still the same guy – warts and all.  Hot-tempered, dense, cruel sometimes, he tries.  It’ll be interesting to see how he does without Nighteyes to balance him out.

Rating: 5